In practice, it is possible to use conventional diapers as incontinence protection for men. The disadvantage of conventional diapers is that they are intended to absorb both urine and faecal matter and that they are therefore not suitable for men who only need protection which collects urine. Conventional diapers are relatively unwieldy with thick, wide absorbent bodies which during use extend the whole way from the abdomen area of the wearer, through the crotch and a considerable way up over the behind of the wearer. For reasons of both comfort and discreetness, there is a great need for more appropriate products for incontinent men.
Mild incontinence is a major and concealed handicap from which many men suffer and which seriously limits their possibilities for a normal active life. A large group which suffers from this is men with prostate problems. After operations, these men are usually affected by dribbling incontinence, which causes great distress.
Incontinence pads for men with mild incontinence are previously known per se but they have not functioned satisfactorily in all respects. Examples of previously known incontinence pads for men are those of the kind which have a container-like part for surrounding the genitals of the male wearer. Major disadvantages of these are that they are much too warm at the same time as they are too tight and consequently uncomfortable for the wearer.
Another disadvantage of this type of protection is that they are too stiff and can give rise to chafing.
One example of a previously known incontinence pad for men is described in WO 91/07155. This pad has an absorbent body which tapers towards one end from a front portion of the article to a crotch portion of the article and is enclosed in a covering consisting of a liquid-impermeable layer on one side of the absorbent body and a liquid-permeable layer on the opposite side of the absorbent body. The two layers extend outside the absorbent body and are interconnected there. The incontinence pad in this publication is provided with elastic threads or the like, which are applied with pretensioning to the covering on both sides of the absorbent body and which converge in the direction of the narrower end portion of the absorbent body.
The elastic threads and the tapering absorbent body interact to provide the pad with a bowl-like part at the bottom, which bowl-like part is intended during use of the pad to curve in under the penis and scrotum of the wearer.
A disadvantage of the construction according to WO 91/07155 is that undesirable folds extending from the absorbent body in the lateral direction can lead to urine leakage along the folds and out of the article.
Another incontinence pad for men is described in WO 2004/004617. This incontinence pad also has an absorbent body tapering from the front portion to the rear portion. A liquid barrier is arranged at the narrower end of the incontinence pad. This liquid barrier can be formed by a material piece which has been folded or bent into a suitable shape in order to follow the shape of the absorbent body at the narrow end. The liquid barrier can be provided with an elastic element applied along the edge of the barrier, a barrier raised above the liquid-permeable layer being formed.
The disadvantages of a barrier arranged according to WO 2004/004617 are that the process for applying the barrier can be complicated as the material piece forming the liquid barrier is bent or folded before application.